Networks provide for transmission of information from a source to a destination over a particular route. The information is transmitted along the route through routers, and in accordance with a particular protocol. The Internet has become a particularly important network for transmission and distribution of data (text, code, image, video, audio, or mixed) and software. Users connect to the backbone of the Internet and other networks with broadly divergent levels of performance, ranging from 14.4 Kb/s to more than 45 Mb/s.
There are applications where clients within the network receive various types and sources of information as real-time data inputs to an application that is presented as a single composition to a user on a graphical user interface. This is accomplished by the real-time data being aggregated at a common point such as an application server, and then fed as aggregated data directly to the client device. An example of a network system providing a client aggregated video data from multiple sources is shown in FIG. 6. The video server receives stock information from the stock server over link 1 and receives news data from the news server over link 2. The video server then aggregates the stock ticker and news sidebar information into a composite video screen that is communicated to the client over link 3.
As will be appreciated, aggregating the news information and stock information at the video server and then forwarding to the client adds to the delay of the client getting real-time data. Nonetheless, the added delay has heretofore been accepted as necessary to maintain the video processing necessary to build the video screens on the video server, and not further burdening the client with tasks of aggregating data from multiple sources and building the video image from the sources. However, it would be preferable for the client to receive the video instructions for building the screen directly from the video server, but to receive the news and stock data directly from the news and stock servers, thereby decreasing the delay in receipt of the real-time data.